Milo Yiannopoulos and tour organisers yet to pay $50k bill for extra police at show

Organisers behind alt-right mouthpiece Milo Yiannopoulos' Melbourne event have so far refused to cough up the $50,000 bill for extra police resources used after violent protests broke out at his show last year.

Hundreds of left and right-wing protesters clashed outside the Melbourne Pavilion in Kensington in December at the Yiannopoulos event.

Milo YiannopoulosCredit:Alex Ellinghausen

Riot police stormed the protest and used pepper spray to subdue the crowd, which included members of left-wing group Campaign Against Racism and Fascism and right-wing groups Reclaim Australia and The Freedom Party.

But Police Minister Lisa Neville revealed on Monday that Yiannopoulos and the organisers behind his 'Troll Academy' tour, are yet to foot the bill, more than six months after they were ordered to do so by police.

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And police are taking legal action.

“He hasn’t paid it,” Ms Neville told radio station 3AW.

“He was presented with a bill and he hasn't yet paid it. I know there is discussions going on at the moment with... our government solicitors."

Ms Neville added it was common practice for organisers of large-scale or controversial events to be billed if large numbers of police resources were required.

"I remember at the time people said 'why are we charging for protests because he's got a different view?'" Ms Neville said.

"That is not the case. Any commercial activity, we ask for a contribution from those commercial providers where police are required."

Hard left and right protesters clashed outside a Milo Yiannopoulos event in Melbourne.Credit:Jason South

Up to 300 police were called in to separate the protesters when fights broke outside Yiannopoulos' show.

Yiannopoulos' visit to Australia was mired in controversy.

The former Breitbart writer, who has been linked to neo-Nazis and mocked sexual abuse victims, was the subject of a push to deny him a visa before his visit.

Late last year, the show's promoter Damien Costas, who publishes Penthouse magazine and bankrolled the 'Troll Academy' tour, said Ms Neville's claim his team would be billed for the cost of the hundreds of police officers required to handle violent protests outside the shows was "political grandstanding".

"We held a perfectly legitimate event," Mr Costas said at the time. "The people that attended, 3000 of our people, we have three hours worth of footage where you actually see them lining up very peacefully."

When asked if she was concerned similar violent protests would erupt when far-right Canadian YouTuber Lauren Southern holds a show at a yet-to-be-disclosed venue in Melbourne on Friday night, Ms Neville warned police would be out in full force.

After initially being denied a short-term visa, Southern landed in Australia on Friday for her national tour, wearing a shirt emblazoned with "It's okay to be white".

Far right Canadian Youtuber Lauren Southern has landed in Australia after reportedly experiencing delays in getting a visa.Credit:Youtube

She and right-wing Canadian podcaster and YouTuber Stefan Molyneux, who will be appearing at events together from next week, were granted temporary activity visas subclass 408 earlier this week.

Southern, who has spoken against immigration, feminism and Islam, was denied entry to the UK in March on the grounds that her "presence in the UK was not conducive to the public good".

"Police are always well prepared, they've got the equipment... they've got the powers they need to do this and they will not sit by and let people cause public harm to each other or other innocent people in the community."